Re: RE: tubas in swing band


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Posted by Ron Hall on September 24, 2000 at 08:07:07:

In Reply to: RE: tubas in swing band posted by Tom Mason on September 19, 2000 at 10:09:46:

That does sound good for a society/dance band arrangement.
That orchestra always did sound like a simpler dance band.

Contemporary arrangements for large ensembles, though, can
require both at the same time, which, for the sake of those
who want to encourage soli, melodic/contrapuntal, ensemble,
and (non-bassline) punctuated parts for youth and adults,
I would not want to discourage.

I just caught Bill Stewart doing all of these types of parts
with the Louis Armstrong Tribute led by Nicholas Payton,
and playing along with the string bass as well, which also
requires two players. This was at the Monterey Jazz Festival,
but I would assume he worked with the band for the better part of
the summer. I have had a similar function in a Sacramento-Area
art orchestra of sorts, but our CDs sell much less.

Howard Johnson's brand of doubling -- on Baritone saxophone --
really meets the order of the day, allowing two Bari saxes in
even mid-sized ensembles and creating the opportunity to sub-
stitute the tuba in smaller ensembles. The Tuba-Bari and two-Bari
sound were both used "heavily" in T.S. Monk's Monk on Monk band and
on the CD of the same name.

If you don't want to lose a bari sax player, you can always have a
player who switches with trombone; that way, you don't really lose a
full brass sound and he can always play with the string bass, especially
on traditional jazz and rags. I have done that quite a few times on gigs,
just to capture the right sound for a piece, even adding Euphonium on
recordings. It is sad how many times I was miked poorly and had to wave
to the string bass for support, though.

I hope they paid you extra, because you created the right sound for
them. Dr. Bill Welch probably still plays both axes with our Bill Rase
Orchestra out here in Sacramento--I think he is a TUBA member.


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